Whole Foods Could Be Coming To Uptown Charlotte

Audrina Bigos,

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CHARLOTTE, NC – Some residents call Uptown Charlotte a food desert when it comes to grocery stores, but that could soon change.

Whole Foods is expected to announce a new location in Center City as early as Wednesday.

A Whole Food’s representative tells WCCB the company will announce it’s newest leases at a quarterly earnings meeting Wednesday.Β 
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According to CharlotteRestaurantTraffic.com, a blog run by local real estate brokers, the Whole Foods will be built at the corner of Stonewall and South Caldwell near the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
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Right now, the Harris Teeter at Fifth and Poplar is the only grocery story in Uptown Charlotte.
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“Where I am, it’s almost like a food desert,” said Brad Stalker, an Uptown Charlotte resident.
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The 18,000 square foot store has limited options. Β That’s why residents are excited about the possible addition of a 47,000 square foot Whole Foods Supermarket.
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“People who live in Uptown generally are going to want to shop at Whole Foods. I think it’s going to be a really big market and I think people have wanted it to come here for a long time,” said Maddie Audit, an Uptown Charlotte resident.
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From the corner of Stonewall and South Caldwell, where the Whole Foods would sit, the growing rental market and residential boom of Uptown are evident.
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“But retail has been something over the years that’s been fairly difficult in the Uptown market,” said T.J. Larsen, owner of My Townhome, a Charlotte-based real estate company.
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Larsen says the Harris Teeter at Fifth and Poplar increased property values when it opened 12 years ago.Β He expects Whole Foods will do the same.
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“Any increase in value in Uptown should also translate to increases in value in Dilworth and South End and the adjacent properties,” said Larsen.
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The new supermarket is also expected to heat up the local grocery store wars.
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Publix is building a store about a mile away in South End. There’s also the Trader Joe’s at the Metropolitan and the Midtown Target.Β 
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The new Whole Foods will reportedly feature a rooftop restaurant and bar overlooking the Charlotte skyline.
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“It really rounds out the city in that location. I mean, those areas that they’re talking about construction here are the last pieces of land,” said Larsen.
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As for new jobs, Whole Foods hired 200 employees for it’s SouthPark store in 2012.
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Another Whole Foods is slated to open next year at the intersection of Providence and Ardrey Kell Roads in South Charlotte.